LSE Union Divided as Students Condemn Israel's Apartheid Regime

Deborah Hyams and James Caspell, Indymedia30 January 2008

Over 600 students turned out to debate a motion on Israeli apartheid at the London School of Economics Students' Union (LSESU) Union General Meeting (UGM) last Thursday, 24 January 2008. Students packed the Old Theatre and spilled out into the corridors for the motion, entitled 'Make Apartheid History', which condemned Israel's Apartheid regime and called for the LSESU to lobby the school and the National Union of Students (NUS) to divest from Israeli and international companies that support the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands.

Apartheid in South Africa was defeated when ordinary people around the world, including many LSE students, stopped believing the South African government's propaganda and campaigned for universities to divest from its racist regime..

It is time for us to call Israeli apartheid by its name and press our universities to divest and stop funding it. Together, students can contribute to making apartheid history once and for all.

Ziyaad Lunat, LSE student

The overwhelming attendance for this motion, proposed by the LSESU Palestine Society, shocked everyone including the UGM organisers, and proved that debate and activism are alive and well at LSE. Growing awareness of Israel's systematic discrimination against its Palestinian citizens, colonial settler regime in the West Bank, and brutal siege of the Gaza Strip motivated many LSE students of all backgrounds to take a stand for justice, equality, and human rights.

As LSE student, Ziyaad Lunat, said, "Apartheid in South Africa was defeated when ordinary people around the world, including many LSE students, stopped believing the South African government's propaganda and campaigned for universities to divest from its racist regime. Prominent South Africans including Archbishop Desmond Tutu, former President Nelson Mandela, UN Special Rapporteur John Duggard, and Minister of Intelligence Ronnie Kasrils note that Israel has maintained a similar apartheid regime in the Occupied Palestinian Territories for 40 years.”

“It is time for us to call Israeli apartheid by its name and press our universities to divest and stop funding it. Together, students can contribute to making apartheid history once and for all.

Those opposing the motion spread misinformation about its contents (see attachment for the motion's full text) in the period leading up to the vote and at the UGM itself, claiming that the motion labelled individual Jewish or Israeli students 'racists'. In fact, the motion referred only to discriminatory Israeli laws, policies, and government actions (all fully documented), and explicitly called on the LSESU to support Jewish and Israeli organisations that campaign against apartheid and racism in Israel. Although many students from all backgrounds saw through this smear campaign against the motion, the final vote was 285 in favour to 292 against.

Irregularities in the voting procedure, including the presence of non-LSE students at the UGM and the possibility that they may have voted, and the fact that tens of students were turned away from the UGM for lack of space, has cast doubt on the validity of the final vote. This led to the Constitution and Steering Committee ruling the vote invalid yesterday, Tuesday 29th of January 2008 and a revote or resubmission of the motion is likely in the coming weeks.

Contact: Ziyaad Lunat
E-mail: z.lunat@lse.ac.uk

Source: http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/01/390386.html

LSE refuses to annul anti-Israel ballot

Simon Rocker, The Jewish Chronicle8 February 2008

The students’ union at the London School of Economics has rejected calls to invalidate a recent ballot which resulted in the narrow defeat for a motion urging divestment from “apartheid” Israel.

The union’s constitutional committee had recommended annulling the 292-285 vote after receiving protests about the conduct of the meeting a fortnight ago.

But Joe Meadway, who chairs union meetings and has ultimate authority over voting, has ruled that the original result will stand.

Marilyn Carsley, president of the LSE’s Israel society, said: “We are extremely happy that the vote was not annulled. It would have been embarrassing for the LSE if it had.”

But she and fellow Israel supporters are facing a fresh challenge. A union official confirmed that a similar motion has been submitted and is due to be debated at the end of next week.

Meanwhile, two Jewish LSE staff members, who have supported calls for the LSE to debate the academic boycott of Israel, have written to the JC this week to say that strong criticism of the Israel government is shared by “many members of the LSE community”.

Professor Jonathan Rosenhead and Mike Cushman were among signatories of a letter sent last year to LSE director Sir Howard, saying they were “disappointed” at a statement he issued firmly rejecting any academic boycott.

"The United States is 4.6% of the worlds people but still controls 50% of the worlds wealth and has a military that spends more than every other country in the world combined. I see this moment, as a moment that is very dangerous.. which is to say that the United States is a declining world economic power, similarly a declining political power, but what isn't declining is the military power. As you know from the 20th century that's a dangerous combination - a declining economic and political power but an overwhelmingly dominant military power. I think the national security state that we've seen organised since 9-11 in an unbelievably rapid way, which owes in no small part to Israel I must say, is a particular [example]."